First Energy Stadium [Photo: ©Gensler/Ryan Gobuty]

If you step inside a new boutique hotel’s lobby, you’ll probably see more people in the space who aren’t there for a night’s stay than people who are. Take the Ace Hotel, in New York. I’ve never stayed overnight, but I’ve been inside for work meetings in the lobby lounge; killed time by getting a coffee, perusing their gift shop, and plunking down in one of their sofas; met friends for drinks; and had dinner. Each space is part of the same hotel, and each has its own eye-catching interior design. Regardless of what you have to do during your day, there’s a good chance the space can support it. This is emblematic of spaces of the future: multifunctional and eminently photogenic.

According to the Experience Index, a new study by the architecture firm Gensler, this is all thanks to the smartphone in your pocket. Gensler’s research shows, quantitatively, that the technology has given rise to offices, stores, hotels, and transportation hubs that are fluid–not designed for a single purpose.

Smartphones have slowly made their mark in the interior design world. “Airspace”–a term Verge writer Kyle Chayka coined to describe the generic-fancy style that usually includes midcentury furniture, reclaimed wood, and Edison bulbs–has spread around the world thanks to sites like Airbnb. To appeal to food bloggers, restaurants are dialing up the color and pattern of their interiors and creating Instagrammable moments to become more photogenic and feed-friendly.

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